New Coalition of Leading Cancer Research Organizations Launched to Accelerate Early Detection of Deadly Cancers

$12 million awarded to six collaborative teams developing new approaches to the earlier detection and diagnosis of pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal cancers

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research today announced the launch of a coalition of leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to solving the critical problem of early detection and diagnosis for some of the world's deadliest cancers. In partnership with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Lustgarten Foundation, Break Through Cancer, and The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation (Tina's Wish), the coalition will invest $12 million in six collaborative research projects focused on pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal cancers, as well as cancer predisposition syndromes.

These cancers often grow and spread silently in their early stages, contributing to persistently poor long-term survival rates. Existing cancer screening technologies have largely failed to detect these cancers early enough to meaningfully improve patient outcomes. Addressing this challenge will require new biological insights as well as innovative technologies to develop screening tests that can detect tumors before they become lethal. By pooling $12 million in joint investment and aligning the expertise of top scientists across disciplines, this coalition aims to overcome these scientific hurdles to change the paradigm of cancer care.

"We can't cure what we can't detect, and late-stage diagnosis often limits treatment options," said Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, CEO of The Mark Foundation. "For too long, significant advances in early detection of these deadly cancer types have been lacking. This coalition breaks down barriers between funders, scientists, and research disciplines to drive faster progress."

"Knowledge-sharing is central to solving the most pressing challenges in cancer research," said Dr. Margaret Foti, CEO of AACR. "By leveraging our collective expertise, we have brought together a network of international experts across various scientific disciplines to address cancers that have historically been very difficult to detect. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to expand the reach of our research network and foster creative approaches that go beyond traditional funding mechanisms."

A Global Model for Collaboration

This initiative represents an ambitious shift in how cancer research is funded by aligning strategy and uniting expertise to accelerate solutions that no single organization could achieve alone. In addition to providing funding, the initiative is designed to build a global early detection ecosystem. Last January, three of the partners (AACR, Lustgarten Foundation, and The Mark Foundation), organized a scientific workshop focused on early detection in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bringing together dozens of scientists and physician-scientists as well as several other cancer research funding organizations, including Break Through Cancer, to forge the partnerships that are now being formalized through the grant program.

"Pancreatic cancer alone has a five-year survival rate of just 13%, largely due to late detection," said Linda Tantawi, CEO of the Lustgarten Foundation. "Early detection research is a promising frontier that could give doctors and patients the time and resources they need to drastically improve the treatment of recalcitrant cancers."

"Progress in early detection and interception of the deadliest cancers remains far too slow," said Tyler Jacks, President of Break Through Cancer. "However, new cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and single-cell profiling are providing new opportunities to decipher hidden early disease biology, predict patient outcomes, and accelerate translational progress. It's an exciting moment."

"Ovarian cancer exemplifies why accelerating early detection is critical", said Amy Kyle, Board Chair of Tina's Wish. "There is currently no effective screening test, and even cancers caught at a so-called early stage are incredibly difficult to eradicate. Advancing early detection will require the kind of coordinated, cross-disciplinary collaboration this coalition represents."

Awarded Research Projects

The following six teams have been awarded up to $2 million each to pursue research aimed at overcoming the most pressing obstacles in the early detection of cancer:

• Digital Pathology Diagnostics for Robust Stratification of Esophageal Cancer Risk, with support from Break Through Cancer
  Christina Curtis, PhD, and Greg Charville, MD, PhD, Stanford University; William M. Grady, MD, University of Washington; Rebecca Fitzgerald, MD, University of Cambridge
  
  
• Harnessing ecDNA and Aneuploidy Signals in Plasma Whole Genome for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer, with support from Tina's Wish
  Dan Landau, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine; Ronny I. Drapkin, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Paul S. Mischel, MD, Stanford University; Adam Widman, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
  
  
• Towards a Unified Platform for Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Cancer Risk Prediction and Cell-free DNA Surveillance
  Trevor J. Pugh, PhD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research; Brian D. Crompton, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Paul A. Northcott, PhD, St. Jude Children's Hospital; Kara N. Maxwell, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
  
  
• Molecular Profiling of Ovarian Cancer Precursors to Transform Early Detection and Precancer Stratification, with support from Break Through Cancer
  Peter K. Sorger, PhD, David R. Walt, PhD, and Sandro Santagata, MD, PhD, Harvard University; Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
  
  
• Programmable Recognition of KRAS Neoantigens for Early Cancer Diagnostics Across Patients 
  Nikolaos G. Sgourakis, PhD, Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania and University of Pennsylvania; Mark A. Sellmyer, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Possu Huang, PhD, Stanford University
  
  
• Detection and Interception of KRAS-mutant Pancreatic Cancer Using Small Molecule RAS(ON) Inhibitors 
  Brian M. Wolpin, MD, MPH and Andrew Aguirre, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Julie L. Sutcliffe, PhD, University of California, Davis; Laura D. Wood, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

For more information about the coalition and the funded projects, please visit themarkfoundation.org/early-detection.

About The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, a charitable organization based in New York City, actively partners with scientists worldwide to accelerate research that will transform cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Since 2017, The Mark Foundation has awarded more than $300 million in grants to investigators at more than 120 academic institutions across 18 countries, with research programs focusing on early career support, team science collaboration, new technology innovation, and therapeutics discovery. Additionally, The Mark Foundation maintains a growing portfolio of investments in early-stage cancer diagnostics and therapeutics companies, including several that have transitioned from grantee projects into commercial development. To learn more, please visit www.themarkfoundation.org

About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 61,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and patient advocates residing in 143 countries and territories around the world. Presently, 34% of members live outside the United States and 20% of AACR's international members are located in countries building cancer research capacity. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 30 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting. The AACR publishes 10 prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journals. Other AACR publications include Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients and caregivers; the annual AACR Cancer Progress Report; AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report; AACR Annual Impact Report; Leading Discoveries, the AACR's awareness and donor magazine; and the blog, Cancer Research Catalyst. In addition, the AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration, and scientific oversight of team science and individual investigator grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and other policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.

About the Lustgarten Foundation
The Lustgarten Foundation is the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research in the world, funding preeminent pancreatic cancer researchers, driving the pursuit of bold and innovative science toward earlier detection and better treatments and transforming pancreatic cancer into a curable disease. The Foundation funds research where creative risks yield high rewards to accelerate and expand life-saving treatment options. We believe time is everything to patients and their families, and that community is power. Lustgarten programs and events provide people affected by pancreatic cancer a voice and a place to create hope, together. For more information, visit www.lustgarten.org.

About Break Through Cancer
Founded in 2021, Break Through Cancer empowers outstanding researchers and physicians to both intercept and find cures for several of the deadliest cancers by stimulating radical collaboration among outstanding cancer research institutions, including its founding partners: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Foundation is supported by a Board of Directors from the five partner institutions and a Scientific Advisory Board of U.S. cancer experts. The Foundation was launched with an extraordinary challenge pledge of $250 million from Mr. and Mrs. William H. Goodwin, Jr. and their family, and the estate of William Hunter Goodwin III. For further information, please visit the Foundation's website at www.breakthroughcancer.org.

About Tina's Wish
Tina's Wish was founded in 2007 to carry forward the vision of the Honorable Tina Brozman, former Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court, to find an early detection test for ovarian cancer so that other women would not suffer her fate. Tina's Wish invests in innovative, high-impact scientific research that accelerates progress toward early detection of ovarian cancer and delivers critical gynecologic health education to empower women everywhere. We believe collaboration is essential to advancing early detection and are proud to partner with this coalition in pursuit of this shared goal. Know Early. Know Hope^®. To learn more, visit www.tinaswish.org.

Media contact:
Rachel Hastings
[email protected]

SOURCE The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research